Silence
by SilverCaffiene
Summary: Horo just returned home, and Ren wasn't there. Ren returns later at night, wounded. In the process of cleaning the Chinese up, the two lovers meet each other for the first time in two months. Explores the moment the two share in silence. HoroXRen, oneshot


Silence

Pairing: Horo X Ren

Warnings : This oneshot may not have any obscene action, but it contains shounen- ai, and if you take offense at even implications of gay pairings, please do not read this.

That being said, this oneshot is set post Shaman Fight, where Ren and Horo are living together.

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Ren sighed, and trudged up the stairs softly, not wanting to wake a certain Ainu lover of his. Dumping his bag and coat on the floor, he stepped into the rather large bathroom, and started taking off his clothes, hissing in pain as the stiff fabric passed over his wound.

He'd been walking home as usual, tired and wanting to go home. Only that this time, he'd been accosted by a group of drunk thug wannabes, and had gotten into a scuffle in one of the dingy alleys near his home. Cursing himself for his carelessness, Ren had tried his best to evade the punches and knife swings as he refused to hand over his wallet. The problem was, that he had had a long day, and was extremely defocused, and had failed to realise that there was another person behind him, and that person had managed to get a rather nasty swing at his left shoulder blade, injuring him with a rather long gash down his back. By this time some kind passer-by dressed in white had called the police, and he'd escaped the situation narrowly. The officers had insisted that he go to a hospital, but he'd blatantly lied that he was not injured, and brushed the whole thing off. His family would take care of the charges.

That being said, he gritted his teeth and trudged home, ignoring the stinging on his back. He must be getting weak, if this caused him pain. He'd been through more than this during childhood, and the Shaman Fight, what was a little more pain?

Sitting at the edge of the large bath, he turned on the tap, getting ready for a bath. While the water ran, he rummaged around the bathroom cabinet for the first aid kit. Finding some antiseptic and gauze, he proceeded to clean his wound, muttering a few choice curses.

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Horo Horo was unable to sleep, for a few reasons. First, he'd just returned from a meeting overseas regarding the restoration of the Coltsfoot fields, and was suffering from jet lag. Two, Ren wasn't back yet, and he'd hadn't talked to his lover face to face in about two months. Three, due to his inability to adjust to Japan time, he'd still been sleeping when Ren left the house in the morning for work. He knew without a doubt that Ren had planted a light kiss on his forehead, but still, not seeing Ren off in the morning gave him a bad feeling, so he decided to wait for his dearly missed lover. And when said lover didn't come home an hour past his usual return, the weird feeling intensified, cresting to an all new high, until the Ainu heard the click of the main door, a jingling of keys, and tired footsteps. He grinned, waiting to meet his lover, and frowned, when he heard footsteps walk past the bedroom. The bathroom? He stuck his head out into the corridor, seeing a flash of a red shirt disappear into the bathroom. He walked down the hallway, and leaned against the bathroom door frame, smiling at the slim man setting up his bath. Although he was puzzled when Ren took out the first aid box. Was he hurt? His brow furrowed in confusion and worry. It was only when Ren took off his shirt that he saw properly the cause of Ren's actions. A huge red gash ran down his spine, looking horribly inflamed. He made no move to make his presence known, until he saw Ren's struggle to reach his wound without stretching it.

"Ren. You need help?" He asked softly, watching as his lover stiffened. He stepped forward, not waiting for a reply, and took the cotton swab out of Ren's hands gently, sitting down behind the male. Ren said nothing, but handed him the antiseptic liquid. Horo then began to methodically clean the wound, careful not to cause Ren any further pain. Ren only hissed when the solution stung a bit too much, but still, said nothing.

Horo took out a waterproof strip of gauze, and gingerly pressed it over the wound. This was temporary, as Ren needed a bath. "C'mon, get in." Ren slipped off his pants, and boxers, and gingerly stepped into the bath. Horo undressed, and got in with him. The blue haired male sat at the side of the bath tub, watching his Chinese lover wash his face and arms. Then he waited, as Ren turned to him and handed him the cloth, and turned his back to him, still not saying anything. Horo shifted and leant forward, placing himself in a better position behind Ren. Wetting the cloth with bathwater, he dabbed it lightly on the area near Ren's wound, then started to wash his lover's back. Ren sighed, and slumped against his lover's knees, content with the silence and his lover's familiar presence.

When Horo was done, he and Ren got out, and towelled themselves dry. Horo went and got Ren and himself a change of clothes. Removing the gauze and replacing it with a bandage, they both changed and walked together to their bedroom.

"Ne, Ren."

"Mm?"

"Sorry."

"For what?" Ren asked, after a contemplative pause.

"For not being awake when you left the house." It didn't make sense, but it mattered, and Horo knew that it mattered to Ren, too.

Ren scooted over, facing Horo on the bed, his expression unreadable. "It's fine. You were awake when I got back, after all." Horo blinked, then nodded at the strange logic. It was strange, but it made sense to the both of them. Wrapping his arms round his Chinese's waist, he sighed at the familiar contact. Two months had been torture. The comfortable silence was not broken. Horo wanted to know where that gash came from, but he'd wait till Ren told him. Right now, the both of them wanted silence, and the presence of each other. Ren leant into his embrace, and also said nothing, relishing in the warm touch of his lover. Words were not needed, neither was action. Staying like this, doing nothing but be with each other, was the perfect thing to do.

They stayed like that till morning, neither shaman saying a word.

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Author's Note: Well, there's absolutely no kissing or anything, but I wanted to explore the silence and what it meant to Horo and Ren. Also, I wanted to try my hand at writing a tender moment between the two, which was the whole cleaning wound washing back thing. For that matter, I wonder who that passer by dressed in white was. One of the X-Laws, perhaps? That'd be weird.

Thought of this as I was waking up today. Ah well. Let me know what you readers think. Do the actions make sense? Or did the characters feel unreal? C'mon, let me know!

Cheers.


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